Free school meal provision in the UK has a long history, representing an important mechanism to tackle child poverty, address inadequate diets and tackle childhood obesity. However, concern revolves around levels of non-take up, since a significant proportion of those entitled don’t register, or once registered, don’t consume the meal. The take up of entitlement varies by Local Authority, indicating the impact of the local context. Existing research has identified a range of influential factors but by seeking to isolate factors, such an approach overlooks why these factors exist, how they are interrelated and why they affect the people they do. This study uses a collective lifestyles approach to explore the social context of free school meal provision to understand the interaction between policy, context and the individual and the influence of these interactions on uptake of entitlement. Using a case study methodology, four schools within one Local Authority in Wales were examined; data were collected by a review of policy documents, focus groups with pupils and interviews with policy makers, stakeholders, local authority and school staff and parents and pupils. Underpinned by a socio ecological framework, factors at a range of analytical levels were examined. Free school meal policy has been shaped by historical and structural factors, including devolution and this influences implementation at the local level. For pupils, issues associated with the school food environment, food availability, the built environment and the social processes of school dining influence the likelihood of having school meals and for pupils on free school meals, the ability to conform to peer norms is shaped by marginalisation, influencing the uptake of entitlement. Recommendations focus on minimising marginalisation by ensuring confidentiality throughout school processes and ensuring that free school meal pupils can participate in the same school food practices as the wider pupil population.

A major challenge to contemporary education is to meet the Government’s directive, depicted in OFSTED guidelines and the Department for Education’s Teacher Standards that all our learners make progress, are autonomous and are able to engage in independent learning. However they offer no guidance as to how this can be achieved. The research has built on earlier theories to close the gap between Government measurements of the quality of teaching and twenty-first century educational theories, with particular focus on learning talk. The primary intention of this research was to determine the impact that dynamically dialogic learning conversations, that is learning talk, have on deepening learning, and how they may be used to enable teachers to meet OFSTED’s requirement for all students to make progress. The data for this case study was collected through a process of lesson observations, interviews and focus-group discussions over a period of one year. Sixteen lessons were video-recorded for a variety of topics and the recordings were analysed in depth against established theories of learning and the complex patterns and relationships between the different types of student and teacher learning talk observed in the classroom. The outcome of the analysis is a set of observable characteristics of learning talk which form an Observation Database. The findings support the premise that learning talk in the classroom leads to deeper learning. The Observation Database contains of a set of tools for observing, evaluating and enabling learning talk in the classroom and therefore offers teachers the opportunity to demonstrate OFSTED criteria. The process of developing the Observation Database and the tools developed have been shared both locally and nationally to heighten awareness of learning talk in the classroom and its link to deeper learning.

The Purbeck Review of Schools, initiated by Dorset County Council in 2008, resulted in the closure of the middle school in Swanage, leaving the town bereft of secondary education by July 2013. A community-led group, Education Swanage, founded a new school in the town, which opened in September 2013 as a free school, with a humanscale ethos. Although there was controversy about free schools at the time, there is no research to date about how personal values influence the founding of such a school. This research answers the question how did values influence the founding of The Swanage School? This inductive research was informed by literature on the conceptualization of ‘values’ and the ‘sacred’ and delimited by theoretical insights from practical theology, living theory and human-scale education. The action research strategy, set within a paradigm of praxis, addressed how values influenced action in founding the school. Semistructured interviews, an online survey and a validation group were used to discover how values influenced practice. The data revealed a variety of interpretations of the term ‘values’, which were most commonly alluded to as being central in guiding and informing everyday interaction in the world and relating to how humans respond to others whilst also being a reflection of personal identity. The research identified areas of practice where the interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic values was influential when operating in contradiction and congruence to affect change. Analysis of the findings enabled conclusions and propositions to be developed, which focused on how values influenced the process of moving from contradiction to congruence in order to enact change. Values were a significant influence in the founding of The Swanage School. When values were contradicted they acted as standards of judgement and formed the basis of conversations which led to problems being solved and decisions being made. Concepts from the wider literature and the field of practical theology provided insight into how values can be defined and how their influence on action can be interpreted as an encounter with the sacred. The conclusion of this study and its contribution to knowledge is the explanation of how values influenced the founding of The Swanage School in the form of a living educational theory.

‘Dare to be different, dare to progress’ explores the educational experiences of a group of 14 – 16 year old students referred to a pupil referral unit (PRU) during the period 2009 – 2012 using both quantitative and qualitative data sources. The quantitative data gathered from school files, the Local Authority’s school performance data and police records enabled a statistical exploration of recorded information pertaining to issues of attainment and progress, attendance, exclusions, deprivation factors and contacts with police. The qualitative data enabled rich contextual information and was gathered from fieldwork involving the researcher’s observations, four group interviews involving four teachers and four teaching assistants and thirteen paired interviews with nine volunteer students. Willis (1977) showed how ‘the lads’ used their social class identities to forge social class relations acting out resistant behaviours in the process in preparation for and perpetuating a working-class lifestyle or culture. This study resonated with my work at the PRU and the impetus to take it further developed during a secondment to the local Youth Offending Service where I observed a high proportion of PRU students were also known to the police and other children’s services. Bourdieu’s (1984, 1990, 1992) works on habitus, capital and field were influential in shaping the theoretical and conceptual framework around ‘class’ and ‘culture’. Skeggs’ (1997, 2004) concepts of inscription and identity formation and Quinn’s (2010) concept of imagined social capital contributed to this too. The research is unique to a particular group of young people in a particular setting and combined statistics, field notes, photographs and dialogue thus indicating ethnographic case study methodology (Merriam 1988). The research found that ‘class’ remains the strongest indicator of educational achievement and cultural capital, but the cultural influences of youth and identity, and deprivation alongside low aspirations and expectations exacerbate the situation.

The use of social networking sites (SNS) is a relatively new field of academic enquiry. Growing concern over adolescents’ and children’s internet use has spawned research on the possible effects of internet use on adolescent and child development (Shen, Liu, & Wang, 2013). This research thesis is designed to explore what social networking sites and apps are being used by children in two UK secondary schools. To investigate when they are accessing their social networks, to measure what extent the use of SNS occupies young people’s minds and to gain a deeper understanding of the experience of being in secondary school, immersed in the use of social networking. A mixed methods, two phase, research design was employed. The first phase of this study employed the use of questionnaires incorporating an adapted internet addiction Test (Young, 1998). The 1148 participants in phase 1 were from across 2 UK secondary schools, in Years 9, 10 and 11 (aged 13 – 16 years old). Phase 2 of this research thesis identified 8 individuals (4 males, 4 females) who scored highly on the adapted internet addiction test (Young, 1998) used in phase 1. These participants took part in semi-structured interviews which were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The results of this study showcase a breadth and depth of data regarding the uses of SNS. Phase 1 of this study indicated that 2% of participants are experiencing significant problems in their life because of their social networking usage (SNS occupies their minds to a severe extent). 41% of participants reported experiencing occasional or frequent problems because of social networking (SNS occupies their minds to a moderate extent). 45% of participants may use social networking a bit too long at times, but they have control over their usage (SNS occupies their minds to a mild extent). 12% of participants report that it is very rare for social networking use to have any negative impact on their life (SNS occupies their minds to a normal extent). Phase 2 results identified a number of key themes experienced by children whose minds are occupied by SNS to a moderate or severe level, including: *Connection to others: Social connection; Relationship maintenance; The monitoring of others *Identity and Construction of the Self: Change over time; A part of you; The role of parent *Cyber-bullying: Group Judgement & Reaction; A venue/channel for negativity; ‘Blocking’ as protection *From online to in-school: Interference of work; Threats, intimidation or violence. This research thesis adds to the growing body of research regarding the uses and experiences of social networking sites. This thesis concludes with an exploration of the limitations of this research, future directions for study and the implications for educational psychology practice.

Psychological distress in children and adolescents is increasing and, despite the growing number in need, many are not able to access appropriate and timely support (Thorley, 2016). Schools have great potential for meeting pupils’ emerging mental health needs and can play a central role in the transformation of services; effective, early intervention programmes can improve pupils’ socio-emotional well-being and educational outcomes (e.g. Bonell et al., 2014; Greenberg, 2010). There is a demand for evidence-based models of good practice to improve schools’ existing support and provision (Department of Health (DH), 2013; 2015). The three studies in this thesis describe an ecologically valid evaluation of the Pyramid socio-emotional intervention (aimed at shy, withdrawn or socially isolated pupils) through its impact on socio-emotional well-being and school performance. While previous research (e.g. Cassidy, McLaughlin, & Giles, 2014; Ohl, Fox, & Mitchell, 2012) examined Pyramid’s effectiveness with primary-aged children, this research looked at the impact on pupils in early secondary school (11- to 14-years). A mixed methods design was implemented within a critical realist framework to examine intervention effectiveness and procedures and mechanisms underlying behaviour change. Pyramid pupils were matched with a non-intervention comparison group on age, gender, socio-economic status, and English and Mathematics levels. Socio-emotional well-being was measured using objective and subjective measures which included the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ: Goodman, 1997; Goodman, Meltzer, & Bailey, 1998) and the Well-Being Questionnaire (WBQ: New Philanthropy Capital, 2010) at pre- and post-intervention. Subject ability self-concepts and current academic levels (English and Mathematics) were used as subjective and objective measures of school performance respectively at pre- and post-intervention. At 12-month follow-up the objective measures were used to re-examine the dual domains of interest. The perceptions and experiences of Pyramid service users and club leaders were collected through focus groups and thematically analysed. A distinct trajectory of change for the Pyramid group compared to comparison group peers was identified: intervention recipients demonstrated significant improvements in targeted aspects of socio-emotional well-being at short- and longer-term follow-up, showing large effects, and supporting previous conclusions from primary school evaluations. Pupils’ school performance findings indicated that Pyramid had a ‘buffer effect’ on the typical academic ‘dip’ characteristic of this developmental period. Qualitative findings provided confirmatory evidence for Pyramid’s effectiveness and an understanding of procedures and mechanisms underlying behaviour change. Collectively, these new findings have important implications for theory, practice and future evaluation research which are considered in this thesis. The thesis concludes with a proposal for a five-part Pyramid model that is integrated with Health Promoting School (HPS) strategies to support pupils’ socio-emotional well-being, generating ‘real world’ impact on children and young people’s lives.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (SA) set out its Vision 2030 of itself as a significant Knowledge Economy to position itself competitively in the world and in the Gulf region. The Government charged the education sector to prepare young people and build the creativity, innovation and technical skills for the country’s future. The Ministry of Education (MOE) selected TQM and has made strategic investments to achieve this strategic transformation in education. Despite this substantial investment in the infrastructure, teaching skills, information technology and advancement programmes for women to enter the workplace, the implementation of TQM has not so far delivered the outcomes expected in secondary schools (Bank, 2008; Chapman and Miric, 2009; TIMSS, 2011). This research proposes that a programme that primarily focuses on the hard aspects of change, without participatory leadership and without integrating the people concerned (as a soft programme would), cannot achieve sustainable transformation. An empirical study was designed to investigate staff perception of TQM implementation in girls’ secondary schools in the Kingdom. The 525 respondents from 61 schools in five districts of Riyadh suggest that the most pivotal critical success factors (CSFs) limiting the development of TQM culture were Top Management Commitment; Training; Tools and Techniques; and Reward and Recognition. The perception results were then used as the baseline to design a model that integrates the hard and soft CSFs of TQM in five stages of maturity. This assessment model could be used to support the schools and the MOE in objectively assessing the readiness of schools to implement TQM and identify the next major obstacles to reaching the next stage. The design approach of a maturity model is innovative in using context perception data as the baseline for designing the stages of maturity and the success factors the progress of change, making its use appropriate for the girls’ schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The ability of reading is an important part of teaching literacy and language acquisition. Reading improves the thinking ability by giving new concepts and ideas and enhances vocabulary and language which is essential in verbal communication. Because of the importance of reading, children and adolescents are encouraged to read by their parents, teachers and sometimes by national reading campaigns as an educational policy. Turkey launched a nationwide reading campaign targeting high school students in 2004, and another one aimed at primary school students in 2005 which is called the 100 Basic Literary Works reading campaign. This study investigated the reading habits of Turkish high school students. It also explored how students are influenced by family, teacher and peer group. Moreover, the study investigated the association between the students reading habits and their gender, school type and region. In addition, the study examined current efforts to encourage students to read. The study was conducted in 8 provinces and 8 districts of Turkey in 2012. The data was gathered thorough questionnaires with 2425 students from 86 high schools of 5 different types and interviews with 31 students, 15 teachers and 4 local education managers. The study found that 82.0% of young people in general read at least once or twice a week outside school for at least 30 minutes and 40.6% read every day or almost every day for leisure. It was found that females were more frequent and enthusiastic readers than males. The students from science high schools and Southern East Anatolia Region read more frequently. It was indicated that the majority of the students reported that they were aware of the 100 Basic Literary Works reading campaign but, in fact, they knew of the campaign in upper-primary school. The qualitative findings indicated that there was little awareness of the campaign in high schools. Libraries are important places to assist inculcate children s and young people s love of reading and provide free access to reading materials and sources but Turkish young people were not frequent users of libraries. Both teachers and students had concerns about lack of reading materials and poor facilities and services in public and school libraries in Turkey.

The dynamic information context is challenging school communities to calibrate their ways of understanding information literacy. However empirical research reports a lack of shared understanding and vision around information literacy that is negatively impacting its development. The solution it is argued is to increase the level of multi stakeholder dialogue about the information literacy phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to create a platform for dialogue within an international school community by identifying and comparing conceptions of information literacy across multiple stakeholder groups to proactively inform information literacy practice. Working within the qualitative paradigm and invoking a phenomenographic methodological approach the research drew from a trans-disciplinary theoretical background in the information, management and education sciences. Using recorded focus group discussions stakeholders including students, parents, teachers, library staff, IT personnel, administration and leadership shared their perceptions of the information context as a stepping stone to sharing their conceptions of information literacy. The findings show that stakeholder groups perceived the information context to be characterised by environmental, social human and affective dimensions; that stakeholders did not hold one singular conception of information literacy but rather they shared a series of conceptions of information literacy to varying degrees, and that the variation in the ways information literacy was conceptualised prevailed across three continuums namely the individual-collective, affective-cognitive and competency–personal mastery continuums. Furthermore, the comparative analysis of the series of conceptions of information literacy created the opportunity to develop a model of the common ground of conceptual understanding of information literacy thereby making an original contribution to knowledge. The study provides compelling insights for information literacy practitioners recommending that a shared conceptual understanding of information literacy requires accommodating its complex socio-contextual nature and anchoring that understanding in the philosophical, pedagogical and strategic thinking of the learning community.

The majority of research into choice, transition and decision-making took place in the 1990s-2000s. Since this time the context in which post-16 transition takes place has been changing due to increased competition between institutions and the extended length of time students are required to remain in education or training through raising the participation age. Additionally, in 2012 the government made schools responsible for Information, Advice and Guidance. This thesis explores choice and decision-making during the transition to post-16 education and training. It provides new research evidence to contribute to the existing literature in light of the changes in context since the body of literature was formed. In particular, it explores the impact of the changes to Information, Advice and Guidance provision and the role of schools in influencing students' transition. The study uses evidence from three schools with sixth forms, drawn from two contrasting counties of England during the first year of research. The second year of research draws evidence from a range of post-16 institutions which the students progressed onto. Overall, the data from staff, students and documentary evidence explores student transition from the final year of secondary schooling to post-16 education or training. The study finds that competition between post-16 institutions has implications for the way that post-16 Information, Advice and Guidance is provided by schools. The practical strategies schools use to influence transition include practical prevention of access to alternative IAG, control of the application process and active student selection. The most powerful strategies involve the social construction of unique selling points and the management of culture and trust. The implications of these strategies for students' transition is assessed taking into account how students make their post-16 transition decisions in a loosely coupled manner and the common belief that their position is of their own making. Overall, a continuum of schools' influence on transition is presented. The study concludes that the competitive post-16 environment coupled with school control of guidance may lead to imperfect transition for students and reproduction of the structural status quo rather than social change. For school leaders implications exist in being able to mitigate competition through collaboration and specialisation. However, the complexity of achieving this in the competitive post-16 marketplace produces implications for guidance providers in equipping students with decision-making skills and empowering them with an understanding of their position which is more likely to lead to students being able to challenge influencing structures and make effective post-16 transitions.